Archive By Author -

Values that we stand by are an important part of our society. When we consider the impact that the state of Colorado decided to legalize marijuana, it opens up the door to the impression it's ok to include marijuana in ones daily life. No matter what damage it does to our children, our homes and economy, it still remains a threat to a clear mind. According to Drug Facts, "Marijuana acts on specific targets in the brain, it causes impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving and disrupted learning and memory." Marijuana's effects on the developing brain ...

Great Bend Regional Hospital and Barton County welcomed the first baby of 2014 on Jan. 3. Raegan Denae Alefs was born at 3:44 p.m. She weighed 5 pounds 1 oz. Her parents, Ashley and Ryan Alefs, were surprised as she was about three weeks early. Ashley is a RN at GBRH and had actually worked the few days before the birth. If she continues in her mothers footsteps, she will be a fourth generation nurse in the family.

A reality TV star speaks out about gays and loses his job, albeit temporarily. Meanwhile, a professional football player speaks out about gays and loses his job, apparently permanently. Some conservatives argue that tolerance means what's good for Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson is good for ex-Viking punter Chris Kluwe, even though the former denigrated homosexuals and the latter advocated for their equality. But to equate the cases of Robertson and Kluwe equates tolerance for an unthinking acceptance of prejudice.

CLAY CENTER – As a sunrise means the start of a new day, so January means the start of a new year. Our world is filled with examples of new starts. The toss of a coin on a football field is the start of a new game, the exchange of vows in a wedding ceremony is the start of a new life-long relationship and the first day on a job is the start of new opportunities. Examples of new starts are all around us. They can teach us a few things.

Members of the Barton County Association of Churches said they hope to have every congregation in Great Bend represented at a unity prayer service this month. Everyone is invited to the service, which will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, at the First United Methodist Church, 2123 Forest. The speaker will be the Rev. Carrie Buhler from Trinity Methodist Church in Great Bend.

Betty J. Lawson, 86, died Jan. 8 at Pawnee Valley Community Hospital, Larned. She was born Oct. 18, 1927, at Earlsboro, Okla., the daughter of Frank and Bernice (Barker) Malone. She married Jimmy Edward Lawson Sept. 29, 1955, at Seminole, Okla. He died Oct. 2, 2005. A Great Bend resident since 1956, coming from Seminole, Okla., she was a homemaker. She also resided in El Dorado.

DORRANCE - Melvin Edward Meier, 84, of Dorrance, died Jan. 08 at the Salina Regional Hospital in Salina. He was born on May 12, 1929, in rural Dorrance. Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary of Russell is in charge of the funeral service arrangements.

ASHBURN, Va. - The face was different, the words familiar. Like Mike Shanahan and nearly every recent Washington Redskins coach, Jay Gruden is anxious to declare an end to franchise's days of dysfunction.